Margarita González Saravia, governor of Morelos
By Alfredo Espinola
With the beautiful colors of its bougainvilleas and the aroma of freshly baked bread, Cuernavaca is preparing to welcome Mexican cuisine to the terraces of the Jardín Borda and the Plaza General Emiliano Zapata Salazar from November 7 to 9, filling the air with aromas, flavors, and shared memories.
The 10th World Forum of Mexican Gastronomy will turn the state of Morelos into a meeting point for chefs, traditional cooks, academics, and artisans from Mexico and around the world. In addition, this year has a special significance, as it coincides with the 15th anniversary of the recognition of Mexican cuisine as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
A land that keeps the fire burning
During the official presentation of the event at a press conference on October 7 in Mexico City, the governor of Morelos, Margarita González Saravia, spoke with the conviction of someone who understands that cooking is also an act of memory.
“Governments must take care to preserve the elements of traditional gastronomy. That is why we are proud that this forum is being held in our state, and we invite everyone to visit Morelos,” she said.
The forum is part of the cultural and tourist agenda “Xochicalco. Land of Encounters,” which seeks to position Morelos as a destination of living culture and ongoing dialogue between traditions. But beyond the publicity or the numbers, the governor recalled the true purpose: to keep alive the flame that gives identity to peoples.
The country at the table
The event will bring together delegations from Spain, Italy, the United States, and Asia, along with representatives from every corner of the country. There will be keynote speeches, round tables, culinary experiences, and encounters between cultures to celebrate the relationship between cuisine, territory, and biodiversity.
Daniel Altafi Valladares, Secretary of Tourism for Morelos, announced that the stars of local flavor—rice, sugar cane, mezcal, and cecina de Yecapixtla—will be present as emblems of “La Primavera de México”.
“The forum is a space to understand that cuisine is a living landscape, an expression of the cultural soul of each region,” he said.
Michoacán, a guest with a kindred spirit
This year, Michoacán will be the special guest in a symbolic gesture that unites two territories linked by rice cultivation. For Lucero del Rocío García Medina, the state's undersecretary of Tourism Development, this coincidence reveals what Mexican cuisine has always known: that roots may have many names, but they share the same heart.
The Federal Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, celebrated the choice of Morelos as the venue and recognized the vision of its government, which was the first to create a Community Tourism Department.
“This Forum opens the doors to a panorama of 30,000 exhibitors and more than 100 chefs. But above all, it opens the heart to the diversity of our cuisine,” she emphasized.
Tradition, legacy, and memory
Gloria López Morales, president of the Conservatory of Mexican Gastronomic Culture and promoter of the UNESCO recognition, also participated. Her presence evoked that historic moment when the whole world recognized that Mexican cuisine is more than a set of recipes; it is a living heritage.
“This forum exalts the cultural values and recipes that have given our country its identity,” she said.
The presentation closed with a tasting of Morelos cuisine, prepared by traditional cook Patricia Beltrán, who served the flavors of her land as if offering a hug, evoking what awaits us at this event, such as fragrant rice, smoked cecina, the sweetness of sugarcane, and a touch of mezcal, which will spark conversation among attendees.
The fire that never goes out
At a time when haste threatens to erase the gestures of our grandmothers, the 10th World Forum of Mexican Gastronomy reminds us that cooking is also about caring for, recounting, and preserving history with soul across generations.
When November arrives in Cuernavaca and the sun sets over the gardens of Borda, the entire country will gather around the same stove, because it is there, where the aromas of roasted corn and the voices of cooks who continue to love what they do, encompass that Mexico will find itself again.
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